A U.S. Navy warship sailed within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built up by China in the South China Sea, U.S. officials said on Wednesday, the first such challenge to Beijing in the strategic waterway since U.S. President Donald Trump took office.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the USS Dewey traveled close to the Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands, among a string of islets, reefs and shoals over which China has territorial disputes with its neighbors.

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One U.S. official said it was the first operation near a land feature which was included in a ruling last year against China by an international arbitration court in The Hague. The court invalidated China's claim to sovereignty over large swathes of the South China Sea.

The U.S. patrol, the first of its kind since October, marked the latest attempt to counter what Washington sees as Beijing's efforts to limit freedom of navigation in the strategic waters.

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Under the previous administration, the U.S. Navy conducted several such voyages through the South China Sea. The last operation was approved by then-President Barack Obama.

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Previous freedom of navigation operations have gone within 12 nautical miles of Subi and Fiery Cross reefs, two other features in the Spratlys built up by China, but both of those features are entitled to a territorial sea.

Mischief Reef was not entitled to a territorial sea as it was underwater at high tide before it was built up by China and was not close enough to another feature entitled to such a territorial sea, said Poling.

He said the key question was whether the U.S. warship had engaged in a real challenge to the Chinese claims by turning on radar or launching a helicopter or boat -- actions not permitted in a territorial sea under international law.

Otherwise, critics say, the operation would have resembled what is known as "innocent passage" and could have reinforced rather than challenged China's claim to a territorial limit around the reef.

Chinese defence ministry says it sent two destroyers to ‘warn and drive away’ US warship that sailed near island in Spratlys

"Guided-missile destroyer the USS Dewey sailed within 12 nautical miles of the Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands. "

The Chinese foreign ministry also issued a statement condemning the US move, saying such a provocative action “violated China’s sovereignty and security interests”.

Observers noted that Beijing’s statements appeared to be more moderate than its previous responses, signalling China’s reluctance to exaggerate the impact on bilateral ties, which have show signs of warming since the first summit between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The Fitzgerald often sails in the West Pacific, including in the coastal waters of China. Certain rules need to be followed to avoid collisions on the sea. It is an unspoken rule that the smaller ship should give way to the bigger one. At about 29,000 tons displacement, the Philippine container ship is more than three times the size of the 8,315-ton Fitzgerald. In the face of such a larger vessel, the Fitzgerald obviously did not show due prudence.

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The two ships crashed at about 2:30 am on Saturday, in the dark of night. Cargo ships often have lights on during night navigation so as to be identified from a long distance while the Fitzgerald is a small-sized destroyer which employs stealth technology. Under normal circumstances, it should have spotted the Philippine container ship first. From this perspective, the US side should bear more responsibility.

The USS Stethem, an American guided-missile destroyer, sailed within 12 nautical miles of Triton Island, a small landmass in the Paracel Islands chain, on Sunday, a U.S. defense official said, marking the second such operation since President Trump took office.

...

“Its behavior has violated the Chinese law and relevant international law, infringed upon China's sovereignty, disrupted peace, security and order of the relevant waters and put in jeopardy the facilities and personnel on the Chinese islands, and thus constitutes a serious political and military provocation,” spokesman Lu Kang said in a statement.

“The Chinese side is dissatisfied with and opposed to the relevant behavior of the U.S. side.”

The incident is the latest flare-up in relations in just a few days, and came only hours before Trump spoke by telephone to Chinese President Xi Jinping, on Sunday night in Washington and Monday morning in Beijing.

“Its behavior has violated the Chinese law and relevant international law, infringed upon China's sovereignty, disrupted peace, security and order of the relevant waters and put in jeopardy the facilities and personnel on the Chinese islands, and thus constitutes a serious political and military provocation,” spokesman Lu Kang said in a statement.

“The Chinese side is dissatisfied with and opposed to the relevant behavior of the U.S. side.”
The incident is the latest flare-up in relations in just a few days, and came only hours before Trump spoke by telephone to Chinese President Xi Jinping, on Sunday night in Washington and Monday morning in Beijing.

. . . and, in the SCMP . . . (this was on the way to the Hong Kong celebration)

Taipei scrambles air force and navy to shadow flotilla until it leaves the region

The ministry said the military dispatched warplanes and ships to “surveil and make necessary preparations for” the carrier group in line with the emergence regulations and would continue to “keep close watch of all the movements” of the Liaoning. “So far, no unusual move of the carrier was reported,” it said and urged the island’s public not to be panicked.

The battle group, which includes the destroyers Jinan and Yinchuan and the frigate Yantai plus a squadron of J-15 fighters and several helicopters, left its base in Qingdao in Shandong province on June 25, Xinhua reported. It is scheduled to make a two-day port call to Hong Kong on July 7 during a training mission reported to be in the East China Sea.